A CRACKDOWN in a community heavily impacted by burglary - which resulted in a huge reduction in cases - is set to be replicated elsewhere in Barnsley.
PCSOs are focusing on ‘door-to-door engagement’ with residents, which sees them gauge concerns and encourage preventative measures following success in Goldthorpe.
Goldthorpe was chosen due to its higher-than-average figures but incidents more than halved over a six-month period - and officers have vowed to continue their work in a bid to allay residents’ concerns.
Locals may have noticed that there are signs on lampposts referring to Operation Shield, a targeted burglary initiative that involves officers visiting homes and businesses delivering SmartWater, a high-tech liquid that is used to forensically mark valuables.
As well as this, more on-the-beat bobbies are being deployed thanks to a recruitment drive which has seen posts being filled.
Neighbourhood policing officer numbers have increased from 81 per cent to 84 per cent of posts being filled in the last quarter, while inspector, sergeant and PCSO posts are all filled between 97 per cent and 100 per cent.
The force is in the process of recruiting a further 12 PCSO apprentices this month.
A report said: “To illustrate the effectiveness, areas have been identified as being burglary hotspots.
“Analytical products have been produced which describe the issues and suggest what can be done to resolve them.
“Inspectors will work with partners, including the housing providers, to do more to protect homes in these areas.
“PCSOs will be focused on conducting door-to-door engagement with residents, alert them to the risks and encourage them to take action to protect their property.
“A daily review of all burglary investigations across district allows themes to be quickly identified, ensures offenders and forensic ‘hits’ are being robustly managed.”
Superintendent Peter Thorp, who is the lead for neighbourhood crime for South Yorkshire Police, urged residents to report any suspicious behaviour to 101 or 999 in an emergency.
“Anyone can become a victim of neighbourhood crime - criminals do not care who their target is as they are looking for easy opportunities where they can slip away without being noticed.
“The more you do to make it harder for a criminal, the lower the chance of becoming a victim.
“We know that being burgled or having personal belongings stolen has a lasting negative impact on people, so we want to help share advice on what everyone can do to become less of a target to thieves.
“To tackle neighbourhood crime we are identifying trends on how criminals commit neighbourhood crime-related offences and are developing problem oriented policing plans on how we can tackle these rising trends.
“We have found that home CCTV monitoring doorbell systems act as a good deterrent as offenders will sometimes leave the premises upon seeing these.
“Please be assured that neighbourhood crime is a priority to the force and we will work tireless to get these criminals behind bars.”
